New Delhi: After reports of huge amount of money deposited in Jan Dhan accounts RBI sets a new restriction that withdrawal from those accounts would be capped at Rs 10,000 per month.

RBi has justified its move to “protect innocent farmers” and others from money laundering after the Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes ban.

Fully KYC compliant Jan Dhan account holders will be allowed to withdraw Rs 10,000 per month from their account, while limited or Non KYC compliant account holders can withdraw Rs 5,000 per month. Further withdrawals may be allowed only after the “genuineness” of such needs was recorded by the bank.

Since the demonetisation drive began on November 8, the Jan Dhan accounts have seen huge rise in their aggregate deposits. Minister of State for Finance Santosh Kumar Gangwar told the Lok Sabha in a written reply that “on November 16, 25.58 crore accounts with aggregate deposits of Rs 64,252.15 crore have been opened under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY)” across the country. As per reports most of these deposits have been made in West Bengal and Karnataka.

Earlier, the government had cautioned Jan Dhan account holders that they will be prosecuted under the IT Act for allowing misuse of their bank accounts through deposit of black money.

Following the currency scrap, the total balance in Jan Dhan accounts have reached around Rs 66,636 crore. On November 9, the balance in about 25.5 crore Jan Dhan accounts was Rs. 45,636.61 crore.